(Before It's News)
For the life of me, ever since I was a little boy, who regularly carried some kind of folding knife, could I understand how a “switchblade” knife (read: automatic opening knife) is any more dangerous than any other knife. Somehow, I think we have Hollywood to thank for this nonsense going back many, many years, where they portrayed gang members using a switchblade to intimidate or kill someone. How on earth one can justify how a folding knife opens, to how lethal it is, is beyond my comprehension. I’ve said this many times in the past in my knife articles, and that is, I can draw my folding knife from my pocket, and open it faster, with a flick of my wrist, than I can an automatic folder. On an automatic folder, you have to index the knife and then find the sweet spot – the button – on the handle and then press it to open the knife. Still, I like automatic folders – and not because they open faster – they don’t – at least not for me.
Many states ban the mere possession of an automatic opening knife – even if you keep it in your home. In my home state of Oregon, where automatic folders are made, and where they are legal to carry, many, many police officers mistakenly believe that an automatic opening folder is illegal. Ignorance is bliss!
Almost a year ago, I received the H&K Entourage automatic opening folder – a “switchblade” for testing. I never carried this knife, but kept it on my desk, and it was used almost daily for opening FedEx and UPS packages, as well as other chores around the house and homestead. To be honest, I had completely forgotten that I received this knife for testing for an article on SurvivalBlog – I just kept on using the knife daily, and it slipped my mind that I was to write this article about the knife – until I found the paperwork in a pile of papers on my desk from Benchmade Knives – who makes the H&K “Entourage.” So, I figured I’d best get this article written.
First of all, it is a testament to how useful the Entourage was for daily chores around the house. Yes, it is faster opening, when I picked it up off my desk – as opposed to having to dig into my pants pocket to get my regular folding knife out to use all the time. The Entourage was just “there” all the time for me. What we have is a 3.74-inch 440C stainless steel blade, with a Rockwell hardness of 58-60 – and this is a bit hard, but the edge stays sharp a good long time – only problems I’ve ever encountered with 440C stainless steel is, it takes some work to get the edge back to hair-popping sharpness. However, I don’t let my knife get very dull to start with. Unless I’m doing an intentionally destructive test, I keep a keen edge on my knives at all times.
Source: http://www.survivalblog.com/2013/05/pats-product-review-hk-knives-entourage.html